oooh...wait for me! I need to do the marathon too--how does Jan sound??

I don't think thats enough time peach, 4 seasons to watch in 21 days ...... and knowing my Bf he bought 25 new DVD/Movies for X-Mas and expects us to watch them *with him* all in 5 days .., ....what to do what to do

Yes they are all on abc.com and play just wonderful, just an ad now and then. So I'm rethinking, I already watched all the seasons last spring I think and might start from season 4 but I feel I missed so much if I skip all seasons. I could skip most of season 3 though and be happy

Lost's Sayid and Hurley find big trouble. The first seasons' flashbacks now seem utterly quaint. And the more recent flash-forwards? Relatively simple. As promised, previewed and teased by the producers of Lost ever since Season 4 came to a close, the next cycle of episodes introduce a new storytelling "device" of sorts that might make you want to keep a notepad and pen next to your TV remote.

But enough about that. No, really — that's enough. I can't say more, given the confidentiality request that prefaced the first two Season 5 episodes made available to the press.

Instead, I will simply note that the episodes "Because You Left" and "The Lie" offer compelling twists for both the half-dozen "survivors" of Oceanic flight 815 as well as those who are still on the island (wherever it may be).

The first hour is the stronger of the two, as it sends the mind reeling and uncorks infinite possibilities. Picking up soon after the events of the season finale, "Because You Left" reiterates Ben's claim that Jack et al must return to the island to make things "right" (as Michael Emerson shares in this video, there's a "scientific need" for that reunion to happen), then lets slip a bit of insight — from the perspective of those left behind — as to where the island moved. Alas, just as they figure it out....

Next up, "The Lie" revolves around a major predicament for one of the Oceanic 6, setting the stage for a twist that significantly staggers Ben's plan to "get the band back together." Meanwhile, Sawyer, Juliet and the others are subject to old island problems, new revelations and surprise saviors, with the showstopper being one of Lost's most electric and intense action scenes ever.

Familiar faces return. New faces create new problems ... or perhaps offer solutions (hello, Fionnula Flanagan!). People die. All told, the foundation is laid for a pivotal penultimate season.

Before I go, a few more teasers to whet your whistle until the new season arrives Wednesday, Jan. 21.

• Within the first minutes, Daniel Faraday turns up in a most unexpected place.

• Jack shaves his strife beard ... in the premiere's second such shaving scene. (And no, you'll never guess the first familiar face to take razor in hand.)

Matthew Fox: Lost's End Will Be a "Relief"Jan 13, 2009 11:10 PM ET by Anna Dimond

As Lost nears the start of its fifth and penultimate season, Matthew Fox is greeting it with a mix of reverence — and a readiness to leave island life behind, literally and figuratively.

"Personally, it's a relief," he told Details, as he reflected on the ABC drama's nearing conclusion. "I owe this show a great amount, and I think it's exceptionally good...[but] I am looking forward to the freedom that comes with not working on one project professionally." Lost's fifth season kicks off Jan. 21 on ABC (8 pm/ET).

Fox, who plays Dr. Jack Shepard, opened up about what he envisions in his Lost-free future — both personally and professionally — starting with his plans to move from Hawaii to the mainland when the show ends. "My major motivation is to be closer to family," he said. "My brother is there, my mother is there. We're hoping to break ground [for a house] in March, and it will be completed right around the time we're finishing the last season of Lost in March 2010."

The actor's new home will plant him far from the spotlight in rural Oregon, but close enough to Portland and Seattle to find city life easily with his wife and two children. "I really miss that kind of wide-open space," he explained, "and there's a big part of me that wants the kids to live in that mountain air."

While Fox envisions a secluded home life, he's also candid about what he wants in his very public working life. "I don't have control over what will come my way, but if the opportunities I get excited by keep coming, I'm going to continue working in this business." Lost co-executive producer Damon Lindelof was more specific: "[Fox] has the potential to be a leading man, but I think he's interested in those quirky transformative roles," he said. "Three, four years from now I can see him getting a Supporting Actor nomination."

Yet, Lost isn't over just yet, and Jack still has some serious challenges to face. "When it's all said and done, you'll be able to look at the six seasons of Lost and see a pretty amazing character arc," Fox said. "Jack has been evolving, and not necessarily into a good place. We started the show with him being this hero who had no concept of what that required, sort of trying to live up to the expectations...and then finding the way to redeem himself."

Where Jack's arc will ultimately end, however, will likely remain a mystery until the series' final moments. "This show started with a plane crash on an island in the South Pacific, and it's going to have a very global and epic ending."

In the fourth-season finale, the survivors of Flight 815 square off against the freighter people, and Locke learns more about the island's powers while in the Orchid. In flash-forwards, the Oceanic 6 return to the U.S. David Reyes: Cheech Marin. Margo Shephard: Veronica Hamel. Karen Decker: Michelle Forbes. Walt: Malcolm David Kelley.

When ABC's Lost kicks off its much-anticipated fifth season this Wednesday at 9 pm/ET (with a two-hour premiere), a body count almost immediately adds up. Who's leaving the trail of goons in their wake? Oh, it's just bad-ass Sayid and his new sidekick ... Hurley?! Jorge Garcia gave us a typically cryptic look at the new adventures of the Oceanic 6. Plus: Who from the island does the big guy miss most?

TVGuide.com: As an actor, how has the Season 5 storyline been different for you?Jorge Garcia: The story has been different and a little weird, and I'm just "following along in my book," so to say. But there is a confidence having done Hurley for now five seasons. There's a lot more instinct in the sense that I kind of know how Hurley goes now, how he would react to new situations.

TVGuide.com: Are you finding him to be a more active character this season?Garcia: There's definitely some stuff that picks up. And there are certain things Hurley does this season where I'm still trying to figure out how he gets to this point. That's what I'm most curious about. They like to skip around in the storytelling, you know.

TVGuide.com: So even though we've arrived at this certain point in the future, it's not necessarily continuous storytelling.Garcia: Right. They're not afraid to skip ahead even more if they want to, and then fill in that blank at a later date.

TVGuide.com: Hurley and Sayid have kind of a "buddy act" going on at the start of the season, don't they?Garcia: Yeah, that's how it starts. The season picks up right where the last one ended, when Sayid springs him from [the] Santa Rosa [mental hospital]. Then they go off together.

TVGuide.com: Are you having fun doing these different types of scenes with Naveen [Andrews]?Garcia: It's cool, because we hadn't worked too much together or in such a large chunk like we did this time.

TVGuide.com: Does Hurley do anything for the first time this season?Garcia: Hmmmm... . There are some firsts on the wardrobe front. [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: Are you in a James Bond-like suit or something?Garcia: Um, I can't say exactly what the outfit choices are. But in the first two or three episodes, it felt like a parade of costumes — which is obviously not something I'm used to. And I wasn't happy with all of the outfits, I have to say. [Laughs] You'll see why.

TVGuide.com: Do you think Hurley misses Sawyer?Garcia: Totally. Especially when the team kind of split up and a group of us set up camp in the Others' village, there was a lot of bonding between Hurley and Sawyer. And I think Hurley was definitely moved when Sawyer jumped out of the helicopter.

TVGuide.com: All eyes were kind of on Hurley...Garcia: Yeah. [Sawyer's sacrifice] had an effect on him.

TVGuide.com: How quickly does the Oceanic 6 make it back to the island?Garcia: That's a big focus of this season, the struggle to get back. How quick it happens depends on how they tell the story.

TVGuide.com: It's obviously not a matter of them simply reuniting and flying somewhere.Garcia: It's a bit more complicated, yeah. There's talk of us all getting there at the same time, and then there's talk of us getting there incrementally. Some of us go on this route, some go another route...

TVGuide.com: Ben says you all have to go back, and we always imagined at the same time. But that's easier said than done, you're saying.Garcia: There is stuff to figure out because things start getting more complicated off-island. At the moment when they're trying to gather people to go back, as you'd expect, "complications ensue."

TVGuide.com: Is the plan still to run all 17 episodes straight through, with no big breaks?Garcia: Yeah. Last season, they might have skipped a week before the finale and had a clip show day, so they might do that. But for the most part, it should run straight through.